INDIA
Maverick minister, phone tapping charges and rift in Rajasthan BJP: Why Kirodi Meena is a rebel without a pause
Popularly known as ‘Kirodi Baba’ in East Rajasthan, Meena claims the state's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is monitoring his communications.
LOK-SABHA-ELECTION
Congress candidate creates triangular mess in key Rajasthan clash
Rajasthan Lok Sabha polls: The contest officially features BJP’s Mahendra Jeet Malviya, BAP’s Rajkumar Roat and Congress candidate Arvind Damor who refused to withdraw his nomination despite orders from party leaders.
LOK-SABHA-ELECTION
Rajasthan's Kota turns grudge match, Raje loyalist Gunjal makes Speaker Birla’s hat-trick bid a tough battle
Rajasthan Lok Sabha polls: Gunjal and Birla were in the same party but they never shared a warm chemistry. Their differences were well-known in political circles and their bickering over multiple issues often caused acute embarrassment to the BJP.
POLITICS
Battle of the Yadavs in Alwar: Will ‘outsider’ Bhupendra make his Lok Sabha debut or will ‘local’ Lalit spring a big surprise?
The Alwar election is a fierce fight between an established BJP veteran and a promising newbie from the Congress.
POLITICS
Battle of wits & vitriol in Rajasthan's Jat Bastion: Mirdha-Beniwal rematch in Nagaur but players have switched sides
Rajasthan Lok Sabha elections 2024: What makes the battle in Nagaur fascinating is that it's a rematch of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections – except that the central protagonists have switched political allegiance!
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan Election Results 2023: Five key factors that powered the BJP comeback
Rajasthan Election Results 2023: The BJP planned and executed its campaign much better than the Congress. The party’s central leadership identified strengths and weaknesses with clinical precision and then went hammer and tongs on all the issues where Congress was defensive like the communal divide, paper leaks, and the Gehlot-Pilot tensions. The BJP also put its own house in order to get behind PM Modi as he ably helmed the campaign
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan Elections 2023: The nine state leaders who matter
Rajasthan Elections 2023: It was largely a PM-CM contest at the highest level, but a number of state leaders also played decisive roles in reaching out to voters. The state’s voters will not just be scripting the fortunes of these leaders but could even be deciding the future course of their parties
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan Elections 2023: The super seven issues dominating voters' minds
Rajasthan Elections 2023: Amid a fascinating personality clash between PM Modi and CM Gehlot, there are also a host of issues that a large section of voters have strong opinions on. Here are seven that matter the most this time
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan Elections 2023: Will Pilot’s patient, low-profile strategy get him the CM chair?
Rajasthan Elections 2023: After his failed coup in 2020, Sachin Pilot had been on an on-again, off-again streak of rebellion against Ashok Gehlot. But since June this year Pilot has changed tack. He has refrained from potshots at Gehlot, suggesting Pilot is waiting patiently for the political winds to turn in his favour and trusting the Congress high command to reward him for loyalty
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan Elections 2023: Centrestage beckons Vasundhara Raje after spell at the sidelines as BJP top brass blinks
Rajasthan Elections 2023: After initially looking outmanoeuvred, Vasundhara Raje has made a strong comeback wresting a sizeable number of tickets for her supporters. The BJP high command was quick to spot the red flags like the localised rebellions against the first list that fielded a number of sitting MPs. One question lingers: Can she become CM if BJP wins?
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan Elections 2023: Can Gehlot’s aggressive avatar that laid Congress high command low, win him voters?
Rajasthan Elections 2023: Ashok Gehlot’s combativeness grew with his well-received welfare schemes and the 2020 success in outfoxing the BJP attempt to unseat him. The biggest statement of his new avatar was the ruthless takedown of the Congress high command attempt to replace him in September 2022; but the last act in that play will be written in the next few days
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan Elections 2023: Jat vote holds key to power but which way will the community swing?
Rajasthan Elections 2023: Both BJP and Congress have few cards to play to corner Jat support. CM Gehlot is the biggest hindrance to a closer Jat embrace of Congress. BJP's cause has been hurt by the sidelining of Vasundhara Raje and Satish Poonia, the unpopular farm laws, and the likes of Hanuman Beniwal and Dushyant Chautala contesting independently
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
A brewing PM-CM showdown promises an electoral thriller in Rajasthan
Despite its track record of ousting incumbents, Rajasthan this election is giving no indications of which way it will swing. Apart from the Pilot rebellion, Ashok Gehlot has run a tight ship. BJP has ramped up its Hindutva pitch but is weakened by leadership squabbles
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Yatra Fever: BJP’s bet on a post-Raje future, Gehlot’s on East Rajasthan water woes
In a curious convergence of yatra politics, the BJP’s Parivartan Sankalp Yatras are getting over on the same day as Congress begins a Jan Ashirwad Yatra. This makes September 25 a big day in the state with battle lines drawn between PM Modi on one side and CM Gehlot on the other. But ex-CM Vasundhara Raje’s absence from the yatra trail doesn’t bode well for BJP
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan: BJP’s ‘Faceless Yatras’ leave its best known face mulling an uncertain future
Vasundhara Raje was front and centre of Rajasthan BJP yatras since 2003. This time BJP has four statewide parivartan yatras and a “faceless” strategy, which effectively downsizes Raje and keeps the crowd of other CM aspirants on tenterhooks. This implies an over-dependence on “Modi Magic” but after Karnataka, there are doubts hovering
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan: Gandhian simplicity failing twice, Ashok Gehlot embraces mega PR overdrive for elusive win
Despite encomiums for his welfare schemes, the 2003 and 2013 losses have convinced Ashok Gehlot to pitch himself and his work to voters on an as large, lavish and eye-catching scale as possible and engage professional political strategists. Consequently, Rajasthan voters are seeing a “modern”, social media-friendly Gehlot avatar on poll eve
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Rajasthan: BJP zeroes in on law and order as Gehlot’s Achilles’ Heel
BJP has discovered that law and order is the weak spot in Ashok Gehlot’s defence of his government in the upcoming elections. Gehlot is trying to blunt this line of attack from the BJP by dubbing it an attack on Rajasthan’s pride
